There are so many ways to make a lovely curry and with winter looming it really is one of my best comfort foods. This recipe makes a silky smooth creamy aromatic sauce that is very mild and family friendly. It doesn’t have to be served with tofu and works well with other veggies, prawns, chicken and fish – I have even cooked it with lamb but I cooked the lamb a little first as the sauce is a fesh light sauce and wont benefit from being cooked for hours.
You could make the sauce on its own and then freeze it too so you have it to hand and I love serving this dish as part of an Indian feast with my Saag Paneer, Steamed rice, flatbreads and beetroot yogurt and mint side dish which is also on my website.
I have never had one guest who didn’t like this sauce – even those who proclaim they hate curry – so it is definitely a crowd pleaser! You really don’t have to make the paste, although there is something very exciting about making your own curry paste and it’s easy enough so I do recommend you give it a try – however if you are feeling lazy just buy the best curry paste you can find. I use a brand called Pataks from time to time and they are really good! For this recipe I would add 6 tbsp of that paste as it is more concentrated than the fresh paste here.
Fresh Curry Paste:
1 onion roughly chopped
1 tsp chopped chilli
2 tbsp ginger chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp each of ground – turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cumin
3 Tbsp desiccated coconut
2 tbsp Tomato paste
Handful fresh coriander
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp salt
Blend all these ingredients together until you have a thick paste
Tofu & marinade:
1 block firm tofu (I like Earth Products)
2 – 3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp ginger & garlic mixed
1 tbsp curry powder mix (any of your choice)
Pinch salt
1 tbsp cornflour
Curry Sauce
1 onion finely chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil
½ cup chopped red pepper (can use yellow or orange too but not green)
½ cup chopped and peeled carrot
1 can chopped tomato
1 can coconut cream or milk
Curry paste mixture as above
500ml – 750ml Veg stock (depends on how thick you like the sauce)
Juice half a lime or lemon
Salt to taste
Instructions
First you need to prepare the tofu so cut the tofu into bite sized chunks and lay flat on a board pressing down paper towel to remove any moisture.
For the tofu marinade mix all the marinade ingredients well and make sure the tofu is covered in the marinade completely. Sprinkle the cornflour over and mix again and leave to one side.
For the sauce: heat up 2 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy based saucepan
Add one onion chopped and fry for 5 mins till slightly browned. Add your curry paste and cook down for 4 minutes more stirring all the time.
Add your chopped pepper and carrots – mix well and cook for another minute.
Next add 1 can of tomato, add 500ml vegetable stock (you can add more stock depending on how thick you want your curry sauce) and cover and simmer gently for 25-30mins keeping an eye on liquid level as you don’t want it too thick.
After around 25mins add your coconut cream or milk and cook for 5 more mins.
Add the juice of half a lime or lemon and mix thoroughly.
Use a stick blender or food processor to render the sauce creamy and smooth – but don’t put the sauce into the food processor when hot and the pressure would force the top open and hurt you. If you want a less thick sauce then simply add more hot vegetable stock and get the consistency you want.
While sauce is cooking place your tofu on a baking sheet and into an oven at 200 for 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up.
All you need to do now is assemble and I would mix most of the tofu pieces in with the curry and put that in a bowl and top with some of the tofu pieces and garnish with chopped tomato and fresh coriander.
I like to serve this with flat breads, brown rice, a yogurt dish (like my beetroot yogurt dish on my website) and some saag paneer for a vegetarian feast 😊
This curry sauce goes really well with chicken breast and I would add that in small pieces while the sauce is cooking to just poach the chicken pieces lightly. You could also pour it over fish and bake the fish in the curry sauce as well as use prawns in the mix too!